Chapter 3
Since he was usually a serious and strict man, I had a bad feeling.
“May I speak with this child for a moment? Please.”
The village chief bowed to the knight in charge. The knight frowned, but after seeing the village chief’s sincere eyes, he sighed and nodded.
What is that look? Like a prison guard letting a family visit a prisoner out of pity…
The village chief came to me and held both of my hands tightly.
“Village chief?”
“Listen carefully, Lucina. You must beg the Emperor no matter what.”
“What? I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I beg—”
“Beg first! You might lose your head before you even get the chance!”
“L-Lose my head?!”
“You just don’t understand the world because you lost your memory!”
He raised his voice for once. I started feeling more and more uneasy.
What kind of Emperor makes everyone act like I’m going to die?
“Father, Lucina did nothing wrong. Please don’t scare her.”
Bayer unusually spoke back to the village chief, but the village chief only looked more serious.
“Listen, Lucina.”
I swallowed nervously. His experienced eyes shone sharply.
“The current Emperor adopted his niece, the princess, three years ago.”
So she’s not his real child? But what does that have to do with me?
“And that’s not all. He destroyed the Kingdom of Tethan in just one year after his brother-in-law—the princess’s father—was killed.”
“One… one year?”
“And that’s not all.”
Again?!
“People say he destroyed the kingdom out of grief, but it was actually just an excuse. They say he enjoys killing. If something annoys him, he kills even his servants in the palace.”
“…Excuse me?”
The village chief didn’t notice my shocked face and continued sadly.
“And there’s more!”
WHAT MORE IS THERE?!
“If anyone enters his room, he—!”
The village chief made a cutting motion across his neck.
“—cuts their head off.”
“…What?”
He sighed again.
“Yes. He has the strongest dragon blood in history, so don’t expect him to be kind or reasonable—”
“D-Dragon?!”
The village chief looked at me in shock.
“You didn’t even know? The royal family’s ancestors are dragons.”
WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO TELL ME?! I just woke up, got chased by debt collectors, and was busy surviving!
A deep sense of injustice filled my chest.
The village chief closed his eyes and sighed.
“Yes… my fault. After your suicide incident, you’ve been through a lot… I thought you didn’t need to be told since you hated politics…”
I pulled my hands away and prayed.
Oh God… I want to live…
At that moment, a cold voice spoke.
“Hurry. Do you intend to keep His Majesty waiting?”
“Um… if I go and clear up the misunderstanding, I’ll live, right?”
“….”
The knights looked at each other, then slowly turned away with grim faces.
DON’T LOOK AWAY LIKE THAT! THAT MAKES IT WORSE!
I started shaking.
Calm down. Even if you’re dragged by a tiger, you survive if you stay calm. I just need to clear up the misunderstanding.
“There’s no need to delay.”
The knight leader signaled, and the soldiers grabbed both of my arms.
“Wait! I can walk myself!”
But I was lifted off the ground anyway.
“I said I can walk!”
“Lucina!”
Bayer ran toward me but suddenly stopped when he saw something.
Following his gaze, I saw the princess.
She had just woken up, her pink hair messy.
“Pr-Princess…”
The knights holding me froze.
The princess, unlike her sleepy appearance, stared sharply at them.
The knights stepped back.
Then—
“Don’t touch my mom!”
“…Mom?”
Everyone tilted their heads.
The princess rushed forward with tears in her eyes.
“Let go of my mom!”
“P-Princess, please calm down…”
But she suddenly punched my cottage.
“Don’t bully my mom!”
BOOM—CRASH!
My home collapsed instantly.
Wood broke, dust rose, everything crumbled.
Everyone stood frozen, shocked—except the princess.
“……”
The villagers sighed.
“Good heavens…”
“Lucina… how sad…”
I stared at the destroyed house, breathing heavily.
Memories suddenly flooded my mind.
A princess with super strength.
Dragon ancestry.
Royal blood.
“…So that’s it.”
Now I finally understood where I was.
Three years after coming here, I realized this world was inside a novel.
The novel I had once read—《Calamity and Disaster》.
It was about the Emperor and the Princess.
The Emperor, Kalix, had dragon blood and overwhelming power. He was cold and cruel.
The princess, Rubellin, was his niece. She would eventually destroy the world.
Her life was tragic.
Her father was killed after a political conflict. The Emperor destroyed the kingdom in revenge and raised her.
But he never showed warmth.
No hugs. No comfort. No love.
She grew up isolated and eventually lost control of her strength.
Later, she was manipulated into believing the Emperor was her enemy.
In the end, she destroyed everything and said:
“If you had just once been warm to me, none of this would have happened.”
Then she killed the Emperor… and herself.
People hated the ending.
Some said the Emperor was like a terrible boss—strong at work but emotionally awful. If he had been kinder, none of it would have happened.
In short… a villain and the maker of a villain.
Inside the carriage, I snapped out of my thoughts.
“Mom, why are you shaking?”
“I-I’m not shaking.”
“You are shaking.”
“I’m not…”
“Cold?”
No. I’m terrified.
I was going to meet the Emperor… with the villain princess sitting next to me.
So scary.
Rubellin suddenly leaned toward me.
“Want a hug?”
“U-um…”
How do I refuse without hurting her?
If the Emperor’s power is like a bomb, then the princess’s strength is a weapon.
I couldn’t just accept a hug.
Then the carriage suddenly jolted.
“Ah!”
I instinctively grabbed her shoulder so she wouldn’t fall.
Rubellin blinked in surprise.
Then she smiled and placed her hand on mine.
I froze.
But nothing happened.
No pain. No broken bones.
She just smiled brightly.
“…Huh?”
The carriage stopped.
Footsteps approached.
“Princess. I will open the door.”
A knight entered, bowed, and carefully lifted the princess.
